


A Simple Rematch

by orphan_account



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Bottles get Shot, Friendship, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2021-01-29 23:43:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21418648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Over a year after the end of the war against the Reapers, Garrus Vakarian and Emily Shepard return to the same spot they'd had a shooting contest in. Even if the war changed them, relaxing and shooting at bottles is still remarkably fun.
Kudos: 3





	A Simple Rematch

Emily Shepard felt a strange wave of nostalgia, standing atop one of the many, many restricted areas of the presidium. Despite being hundreds of metres in the air, with little to stop her from simply falling off, Emily was content, and relaxed. It had been over a year since she was last here, and while the intent of coming here was different, what she intended to do was the same. She was going to go shooting with her best friend. Emily knew that Garrus was the better shot out of the two of them, it was information that anyone could tell. A master sniper, whom had trained for years in the craft of taking men’s heads off with a single shot, and a biotic whom had trained in using shotguns and raw blasts of energy in disabling foes.

Simply put, this contest was blatantly one-sided, and all parties knew it. But that was part of the fun. Fortunately, Emily wasn’t going to be using a sniper rifle this time. Garrus had brought a pair of his own rifles the year prior, so he could surprise Emily. This year, with full knowledge of the plan, Emily had brought her personal Crusader. She hoped that the more accurate shotgun would at least give her a semblance of a chance against her friend. 

Under the artificial sunlight of the presidium, Emily and Garrus were surprisingly relaxed. Even since the war with the Reapers had ended, a lot of the Normandy’s crew and former crew had struggled to truly grow used to the fact that they wouldn’t have to watch their back with every waking moment. For some, like Miranda or Liara, time would be enough. For others, like Jack, Javik, Garrus or Emily, the war would never leave them. They had spent far too long swimming the blood of their enemies to not be restless when suddenly dropped onto dry land. Garrus and Emily were never going to be content simply settling down somewhere. Their home was on the Normandy, helping those that needed it and ending the lives of those that deserved it.

But that didn’t mean they couldn’t relax.  
“Throw it.” Garrus gave Emily the Turian equivalent of a smirk- having spent years around him, Emily was rather good at reading his expressions. Holding a glass bottle in her prosthetic hand, she threw it as hard as she could. The bottle soared through the air… only to be destroyed only a few seconds after. The crack that emanated from Garrus’ sniper rifle still echoed in Emily’s head for a moment after, forcing the woman to shake her head slightly to force it away. The Turian next to her laughed, resting his rifle against the ground and collecting a bottle of his own. “You said you were gonna throw difficult shots!”   
“I’ll do better next time, then!” Emily hefted her Crusader- it was surprisingly heavy, for a shotgun- and aimed. “Now.” 

The bottle went soaring past, faster than Emily could have thrown it. As soon as she saw it, the Spectre fired, hitting the bottle out of the air just as Garrus had.   
“Good shot.” Garrus noted with a nod.   
“Thanks.” Emily set her weapon down, a grin crossing her face.   
“Is your arm working alright?” Garrus questioned, picking up an opened drink he had set down near him.  
“I guess?” Emily shrugged, “It’s not breaking or anything, so I’d say so.”  
“You follow that logic of ‘if it’s still attached, it’s fine’, then?” Garrus laughed.  
“Well, against Reapers, things like injuries seemed less of a concern, really.”  
“Very true.” Garrus conceded. “Still, I just wanted to make sure.”  
“And I appreciate that.” Emily gave an appreciative nod.

Neither Garrus nor Emily picked up their weapons.   
“So, Captain Shepard…” Even if Emily couldn’t read expressions on a Turian’s face like she was able to, there was no mistaking the sound of someone trying to push their friend’s buttons. And even then, a shit-eating grin is something that transcends the barriers of species.   
“Garrus, no.” Emily buried her head in her hands. Despite Emily’s best efforts, the Alliance had decided to promote her to the rank of captain. According to Hackett, they had wanted to bump her up to be an admiral, but he had, thankfully, opposed that, and they had seen reason there. Even if Emily also didn’t want to be a captain, however, that promotion was seemingly unavoidable.  
“What’s wrong, Captain?” That shit-eating grin was only growing.   
“Garrus, remember that I have a shotgun right here.”  
“Yeah, and I know you won’t use it, Captain.”  
“I can easily beat you over the head with it, though.”   
“Point made.” Garrus laughed once more.  
“Anyway, what were you going to say?”   
“Nothing, really. Just wanted to push your buttons a little bit.” Garrus smirked.  
“I thought you’d have tried to find out the intricacies of my culture, if you wanted to do that.”   
“Nah, there isn’t an elevator around.” Garrus joked, getting a laugh from his friend.

Standing up, Emily picked up one of the empty bottles nearby, grinning.   
“Ready?”   
“Of course.” Garrus grabbed his sniper rifle, eyeing down the scope. Emily tossed the bottle, as hard as she could, using her biotics to propel it even further than her metal arm could throw. Bathed in a cyan glow, it arched through the air. Garrus fired… and missed. Emily let out a surprised laugh, throwing her hands up in the air as a joyous smile grew on her face. She hadn’t at all expected that she would be able to out-shoot her friend! “Well done, Shepard.” Garrus smiled.  
“Thanks.” Emily grinned, quickly retrieving her Crusader. “But I don’t think we’re gonna stop, are we?”  
“Of course not.” A bottle soared past Emily’s head as Garrus spoke. She fired.


End file.
